On Monday we saw Kal Lavelle headline a charity show at The Boiler Room, Guildford in aid of Tuk Tuk Travels.

Tuk Tuk Travels is an educational charity (tuktuktravels.com), promoting Education for All and raising money for development education along the way.

Kal is a stunning Irish born singer songwriter, now living in London. Her songs are instantly captivating, with a voice that generously oozes each mouthful. Kal began playing guitar after winning a thousand pounds in a Mars Bar when she was 10 yrs old. With that money, she bought her mother a washing machine and for herself, her very first guitar.

Her single ‘Breakfast At Tiffanys’ was recently chosen as ‘Single of the Week’ on iTunes, which in turn, saw her debut EP ‘Shivers’ climb to #5 in the iTunes Singer/Songwriter album chart. The iTunes US & Japanese stores also featured her in the ‘New & Noteworthy’ section.

Three of her tracks have featured on Tom Robinson’s BBC RADIO 6 show & her song ‘Downstairs’ was selected for the BBC Introducing Podcast. She was recently asked as a special guest on the show, which was broadcast Nationwide.

Kal spent last year supporting her friend & last year’s REDFEST artist Ed Sheeran.

Here are our favourite Kal Lavelle songs:

‘Shivers’ spirals downwards like a whirl-y-gig out-of-control. Then faint thunderclaps of power and energy loom onto the horizon and the ‘Don’t Let Go Of Me...” lyric becomes nightmarishly real. This song (and this girl) may appear, upon the surface, to be fragile... but be warned, they have backbones of steel.

‘Downstairs’ trembles like a faltering candle. Vocals are redolent of the kind of fragrant nostalgia employed, perhaps, by Lana Del Rey. The gentlest of notes pick out the route for the dainty steps of each meaningfully sung word.

‘Gypsy Blood’ - sighs and breathes a veil of harrowing misty anxiety around you. The aura of this simply beautiful song gently grows until it fills a room.

‘Disaster’ has a heart of despair beneath the black robes of its own making. ‘We don’t even touch .... anymore’. Loss and emptiness is drawn in charcoal and uncomplicated repetition of symbols and ideas.

We urge you to seek out KAL LAVELLE as soon as you can.

 She will be headlining this year’s Acoustic Stage at Redfest

© Neil_Mach July 2012

Links:
http://www.facebook.com/kallavellemusic

http://www.facebook.com/RedfestUK